Judge Dread

Judge Dread

Until recently, I dreaded being a contest judge. However, once I earned my PRO¹ status, I sucked it up to help my chapter with the Linda Howard Award of Excellence. We had the happy misfortune of more entries than expected, and not enough judges.

What I didn’t expect was how much I’d learn from the experience.

It turns out that I’ve picked up a lot about writing in the last year (though I still have a long way to go), and even though I’m not an expert at applying it, I can often spot the good elements and the problems in others’ writing. Being a CP has been instrumental in teaching me the art of critique (still learning that, too).

Judging is good insight into the quality of other writers’ prose. It’s easy to assume that everyone else is light years ahead of you in the writing game, but the reality is that contest entrants fall all over the scale. It’s helpful to get a gut check.

Judging is more time consuming than I expected and is forcing me to manage my writing schedule so I have time for the hour (at least) needed to read and score each entry.

It helps to have been on the other side of the judging and to know what contestants are looking for. My chapter put on a class to discuss that very topic, and it was a good reminder, but I wouldn’t recommend judging to anyone who hasn’t been on the receiving end of a score sheet before.

Judges have the opportunity to nurture and teach. To provide both help and encouragement. I only hope that I can live up to that ideal.

¹PRO status is granted by RWA to members who have submitted at least one completed manuscript to a publisher or agent, but have not yet been published.

—

The Daily Squirrel: secret

Loving Robbie Howe was foolish. All the girls swooned in the presence of the quarterback, track star, and honor roll student. How could you not love the tall blond with the lopsided smile and friendly charm? But since the night he’d changed her flat tire after soccer practice, her schoolgirl infatuation had grown into something more.

And now, somehow, the whole school new about it.

She dropped the schoolbooks in her locker with a loud thud and turned away right into a broad chest. When she looked up, Robbie’s crooked grin stopped her heart and she struggled for air.

“I hear you have a secret,” he said, his deep blue eyes never leaving her face.

Oh God. Her cheeks heated and she fought back tears of embarrassment. Her legs wouldn’t cooperate with her desire to run.

“I have one too,” he said. Then he leaned forward and kissed her.

Suddenly, running was the last thing on her mind.

Share this!

Like this:

Related

0 Comments

Christine

If you love judging, try coordinating… hehe… I love judging. When I read someone’s work I know they have given their best and I want to honor their effort with a fair, honest and helpful score with comments.

I love the reading–goes fast. I signed up to do the Golden Hearts this year and I’m looking forward to reading the entries.

Martha Warner

Okay, so this is funny. When I first started visiting Christine’s blog regularly, I also volunteered to help with the Linda Howard judging. lol! I sent mine back right before Thanksgiving (I really hope I did okay in the judging dept – it was my first time volunteering for that…

Christine

Hey I didn’t know you judged the LH–thanks for helping us out Martha! Woot! And you got the entries back in record time! Double thanks! I’m still waiting on a few judges to send their entries to me. At first being a coordinator of a category was crazy for me. Grids and numbers are involved. Addition… aack. But I love the end bit of it quite a lot. Can’t wait to tell the finalists (when I know) who finaled.

Looking for Scrivener Training?

"From my first phone call with Gwen, it was clear that I had found my S.M.F.L. (Scrivener Mentor For Life)."
- Dr. David Davis, author of 9 Strategies for Healthy Caregiving

Get news, tips, and freebies. Join my newsletter now!

Subscribe to Gwen's...

Romance News

Scrivener News

Leave this field empty if you're human:

My Books

Subscribe to Blog Posts

Never miss another post. Enter your email to subscribe today.

Email Address

Gwen Hernandez is the author of Scrivener For Dummies, the Men of Steele series of romantic suspense, and Productivity Tools For Writers. She provides Scrivener training through ScrivenerClasses.com, private instruction, and in-person workshops. Thanks for visiting!

Gwen Hernandez is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Affiliate links from Amazon and other retailers help make this site possible. Thank you for your support!

Apple, the Apple logo, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iBooks are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. IOS is a trademark or registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. and other countries and is used under license.

Microsoft and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.